March 05, 2011

Today, as you must all know by now, is the day when one million books will be given away free, as part of World Book Night, by enthusiastic individuals who got themselves organised months ago and signed up for the project. Middleagedad was one of these efficient souls, and we now have 48 copies of C J Sansom's Dissolution to hand out to friends and family (thank goodness for the party, see below post) .

It's a fabulous idea, a reading revolution, according to the blurb and and in our house at least, it's nice to see a book delivered by a way other than Amazon, however attractive the prices and free delivery scheme. M.A.D has very kindly offered me four copies to give away on the blog, so would anyone like one? As one critic succinctly wrote, 'It's a who-dunnit, a historical novel with something to say about racism, disability and the role of women in the 1530s'. Please leave a comment below if you would, the best four will find their books in the post on Monday.

My brother keeps telling me how good this is. And would you believe, I was in Trafalgar Square yesterday evening and didn't see anybody giving away books though they were gathering for the start of the book event. I suppose I could have hung around longer but the lure of the National Gallery was stronger. And it was very chilly!

As a kid I couldn't get enough of reading - I used to lock myself in the bathroom to get a bit of uninterupted silence from the family with my latest Mallory Towers/Famous five etc. Nowadays I find the most relaxing time for a read is on a long train journey (especially if there's a quiet carriage) and I have a couple coming up soon - 2.10hrs to Poole to visit family, 3.30hrs to Barnstable to visit friends, so would love to have this book to enjoy then. I have a rule that if I finish a book whilst on a train or a plane that I leave it there for the next person to pick up and hopefully enjoy. So I hope you can consider me!